Freaky Phenomena

Here are just a few weird, freaky and mind-boggling stories from the week.

A database in China has compiled women of "breed-ready" status, including their personal information.

Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced to 148 lashes and 38 years in jail for "insulting Iran's Supreme Leader."

The Curiosity Rover had a weird reset.

In less scary news, scientists made an audio map of human emotions using only sounds to identify them. Humans can identify at least 20 emotions via sound alone, which isn't all that freaky, but pretty interesting nonetheless.

Tucker Carlson spewed some ignorant garbage and refused to apologize for any of it.

What other freaky news have you read this week?

Did you know that there are a bunch of undersea cables that we're all currently relying on in order for us to have Intenet access? Whether or not you did, you may not have realized how vulnerable these cables happen to be. Tonga, a country that has access to just one cable, recently experienced a severe blackout, making us realize just how dangerous it is to have anything happen to these vital cables. In a world where we all depend on the Internet, for everything from work to school projects, finances and more, it's a terrifying thought to be without. 

Some people, like retired baby boomers, might even joke that "You Millennials and your Internet, you couldn't go a day without it!" without realizing that it is impossible for those who rely on it for their livelihood to go without it. The undersea cables that lie across the ocean floor providing us with this access are only as thick as garden hoses and they are obviously at major risk.

Do you think there's a better way to provide Internet without ocean-crossing cables? What do you think could make them safer?

There are plenty of galaxies out there that we haven't discovered yet and one of them just said hello by photobombing the Hubble Telescope. While taking photos of the star cluster NGC the Hubble Telescope managed to capture a super small galaxy at the same time, surprising scientists and making an accidental discovery all at once. NASA says that the galaxy is about as old as our universe and can teach us many things about how galaxies change over time. They're calling it a living fossil from the beginning of our universe and that's quite exciting.

Just imagine what else is out there that's as ancient as the universe itself. This galaxy, which is being called Bedin 1, reminds me that there's so much more than we know, and makes me feel like maybe Donald Trump doesn't matter so much after all in the grand scheme of things. OK, who am I kidding, this entire administration is threatening human existence by denying climate change, but even if the humans are wiped out, there's so much more out there than just us.

Have you read any strange science news this week? Share it in the chat!

Every day we seem to get news that disregards previous rules about our existence, proving that life is possible even in the most unexpected places. While that feels like something Gandalf might say, it's actually true; we recently learned that 90% of the planet's carbon is beneath the surface, where a biosphere twice that of our oceans exists. Who even knows what lives there? We've also learned about tiny creatures who can live in the deepest, darkest parts of the oceans as well as in volcanoes, so maybe it's not as surprising to find out that some fish can actually live in dead zones.

Dead zones have very little oxygen, sometimes none at all, and they're a threat to most species. As they increase in streams, rivers and other water sources, they cause damage and loss of life, but scientists are discovering that some fish can actually survive in these areas, which is pretty freaky. Cusk eels, lollipop sharks and grenadiers have been found in areas that are almost oxygen-less, prompting us to wonder how they're actually breathing at all. Who knows how much creatures will continue to evolve to tolerate new conditions?

Have you learned about any weird animal adaptations lately? What are they?